Interviews

Patton Office: Voicing The Darkness

Never let it be said that Mike Patton is lazy. While it may have seemed like he was a bit of a slacker a few years ago when he was only the frontman for the bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle at the same time, Patton has vastly improved his work ethic since by starting his own record label, Ipecac Recordings, with Alternative Tentacle's Greg Werckman (www.ipecac.com); working with Bj¿rk, John Zorn, Massive Attack, and Rahzel on their respective albums; recording his own album under the name Mondo Cane; doing music for the movie "Pinion;" and being the frontman for the bands Peeping Tom, Fant¿mas, and Tomahawk at the same time.

But the thing that's pushed him from being moderately slackish to reasonably responsible is his work in 2K's scary shooter The Darkness, in which Patton voices the titular evil. Mike recently took a break from his time in Australia, where he was undoubtedly vacationing and not touring, to tell us how he managed to get off his lazy ass to be in this game.

GameSpy: How did you land the role in The Darkness?

Mike Patton: The producers called and asked if I would be interested. It turns out that it fit perfectly into my schedule and it was something I wanted to try. I guess someone in their company was familiar with my work.

GameSpy: How much did you know about of the game, or get to see of it, before you signed on?

Mike Patton: Very little. They told me the plot, about the gameplay style, who/what my character was, and the vibe they were looking for, but I did not get to see anything.

GameSpy: What was it about the game, and the role you play in it, that got you interested?

Mike Patton: The game seemed hard to describe. It did not fit into one simple genre. The role was evil but complicated. The producers really seemed on top of it, too, with a great resume in gaming.

GameSpy: Did it matter at all that the game is a first-person shooter?

Mike Patton: No. As a matter of fact I'm not big into FPSes. I liked the adventure and storyline to it more.

GameSpy: Were you a fan of the comic book before this?

Mike Patton: I still have not seen the comic book. I'm sure I will at some point.

GameSpy: How about the fact that the game is being made by Starbreeze, the same guys who did The Chronicles of Riddick game?

Mike Patton: That certainly helped. I would not want my first game making experience to be an unorganized mess or a total failure. They are pros who know how to do it. They understand that it is not just about flashy visuals. Seems like a lot of video game developers lose track of that.

GameSpy:The Darkness, like a lot of games these days, features a rather impressive voice cast, including Lauren Ambrose from "Six Feet Under" and Kirk Acevedo from "Oz." Was there anyone who, when you heard they were in the game, either impressed you or, if you hadn't signed on yet, made you want to do this game more?

Mike Patton: To be honest, no. I don't watch a lot of TV. I watch DVDs and sports and play games. They lied to me and told me I was going to get to meet Pacino!

GameSpy: Did you do your voice sessions with anyone else from the cast?

Mike Patton: No, I did not. Just me, the producers, and a couple studio peeps.

GameSpy: Do you think that made it easier or more difficult?

Mike Patton: I think it makes it a little more difficult. You really have to use your imagination. Thankfully, they gave me good guidance to help paint the picture and showed me some footage in the studio. You really have to put your fate in the hands of the producer/director, just like in movie making.